Targeted measures in poverty alleviation launched in China's Qinghai

Zhao Xuewen feeds the cattle at a livestock-breeding cooperative in Gezidong Village of Zhamashi Township, Qilian County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Sept. 28, 2016. "Our life will get better and better", the 50-year-old Zhao Xuewen said while looking at his sheep on the hillside in Gezidong. His situation was not so good only a few years ago. In 2012, Zhao suffered a fracture to his leg as he repaired his house. Unfortunately, his wife had three operations in the same year. The successive misfortunes subjected the man of the Hui ethnic group a heavy blow. To help him to cope with the difficulty, local village committee listed Zhao as a low-income family. And the new rural cooperative medical care system provided 85 percent coverage for his medical expenses. In 2015, as one targeted measure in poverty alleviation campaigns, local government invested one million yuan (about 150,000 U.S. dollars) to build a livestock-breeding center and buy cattle and sheep. On the recommendation of villagers, Zhao Xuewen became one of the two contractors of the livestock-breeding cooperative in Gezidong. Thanks to his hard work, the annual income of Zhao's family exceeded 50,000 yuan (about 7,500 U.S. dollars). And the livestock-breeding cooperative also distributed dividends to other poverty-stricken families in the village. This year, Zhao enlarged his farming scale and expected a better income. Targeted measures in poverty alleviation, including characteristic industry development and ecological environment protection, have been launched in Qinghai. According to the provincial bureau for poverty alleviation and development, about 110,000 people in Qinghai will be lifted out of poverty in 2016. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)